Hero in the Dungeon
by GrimmPandaMan
Summary: Upon defeating Gilgamesh Shirou Emiya thinks about fulfilling his dream of becoming a Hero. He wishes for it fervently really and the Grail notices this and sends him off to a world where hunting monsters in a dungeon is the norm.
1. Prologue: Shirou Arrives in Orario

**Author's Note: I could not resist and so I decided to start yet another story.**

* * *

 **Prologue: Shirou Arrives in Orario**

The last thing Shirou remembers before being engulfed by the portal of the corrupted Grail was having defeated Gilgamesh the King of Heroes by fully utilizing the Unlimited Blade Works. Shirou had been able to unleash his Reality Marble the way he did since in this particular timeline of events he had been using his Magic Circuits correctly and so they had never atrophied and the quality of all 27 Circuits was relatively high.

Shirou could clearly remember slicing off the right arm of Gilgamesh as he reached for some sort of trump card that gave Shirou a heachache whenever he glanced at it. Some sort of Noble Phantasm that was alien in nature and so could not be comprehended even through Shirou's particularly unique psyche.

The battle ended with Shirou crisscrossing Kanshou and Bakuya across Gilgamesh's neck and proceeding to swiftly decapitate the Golden King. That was when Shirou had a thought, as the King of Heroes was disintegrating.

"With this, could I become a hero?" Shirou could not help ponder on this as he had just overcome a great adversary. If he could save lives by defeating any foes, villains that come his way perhaps he truly could end up becoming a hero and fulfill the dream he had inherited from Kiritsugu.

Yes, Shirou fervently wished that he could become an honest to goodness hero. And that's what the Grail had latched onto before its power could fade.

A portal had then opened and sucked Shirou in before he could so much as yell in defiance. In transit Shirou had bore witness to a variety of scenes. He saw other timelines of his Grail War, he saw futures wherein he had gone off to study at the Clock Tower with Rin, and he even got to see the original timeline wherein he becomes the Counter Guardian EMIYA and so on until he finally blacks out.

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When Shirou awoke it was to find himself in an alleyway, a relatively clean one thankfully that did have a dumpster in it but it was in good condition so any trash was most likely safely deposited in it. The next thing Shirou noticed was that his clothes had changed into something more fitting in a Medieval setting since he was in a white tunic with blue sleeves (resembling his old shirt's design), black breeches and then dark brown boots. There also seemed to be a black jacket sitting on the ground next to him and it seemed to be in pretty good condition and so Shirou saw fit to put it on.

Shirou remembered being sucked into a portal created by the corrupted Grail and so he was wary of his surroundings all the while he was inspecting his person.

Seeing no direct danger as it were he began to explore this city and ask around about where he was and whatnot.

What he learned astounded him. He was in Orario a city where most gods and goddesses resided after having descended from Tenkai and where the Dungeon was located. At the risk of sounding like a crazy person to the locals he had asked about more information on the Dungeon and what he was told blew his mind even more. A structure where monsters spawned and adventurers made a living off of hunting them and gathering magic stones. He also learned of the currency, Valis, and other essential information like about the Guild and the system of familias.

Shirou may have been dumbstruck at first at his new circumstance but he soon saw the bright side to being transported here. The Grail had seen fit to send him to a world that needed heroes! Surely there will come times wherein he had to save other people from monsters and whatnot and he had a feeling there were unscrupulous types of adventurers that abused their power or were part of nefarious organizations and so on, he could feel it in his bones! This was his chance! There was just one problem at the moment.

He needed to join a familia if he wanted to start his life as an adventurer. It was the rule around here.

And so Shirou began asking around if he could join a familia. But none would take him in since he didn't look particularly strong. That was the opinion of those he asked of course but Shirou did not let that deter him from his goal.

By Shirou's estimate it was around seven in the evening when he arrived in this world, and now it was around midnight from what he could tell. And still, he was unable to join a familia. He almost gave up at this point but Shirou was stubborn, he kept walking around in the hopes of finding a deity that would take him in.

"Excuse me but, I heard you were looking to join a familia?" A cute female voice had said suddenly from within the alley Shirou had found himself in.

When Shirou turned to look behind him where the voice came from he saw a petite girl with blue eyes and black hair tied into two twin tails that reach down to her mid thighs. Her hair is tied with hair accessories that feature blue and white petals along with bell shaped ornaments. Her attire is a white mini dress with a blue ribbon around her neck and one tied under her breasts around her arms, and a pair of white gloves. She also seemed to be barefoot at the moment.

"Yes, that's right. And judging by your question that would make you a Goddess right?" Seeing her nod in affirmation Shirou continued. "What's your name, Kami-sama?"

"Hestia." She then smiled such a heartfelt smile Shirou could not help but be moved by the spectacle.

"It's nice to meet you, Hestia-sama. My name is Shirou Emiya. But you can just call me Shirou." He then holds out his hand for her to shake in greeting and she does take it in both her hands and begins to fervently shake them up and down.

"Likewise, Shirou-kun! So, would you please join my familia?"

Shirou's reply came out in about a split second as soon as the question was asked. "Yes."

"R-really? Even though I clearly don't seem like I can provide for you all that much?"

"That's quite alright, Hestia-sama. I'm just glad you're willing to take someone desperate like me in. So, thank you Hestia-sama. For taking a chance on me." The smile Shirou gave Hestia at that moment is one that she shall remember for the rest of her days because of how honest and radiant it seemed to her at that very moment.

Shirou then had a slight problem. Because as soon as he finished saying what he said and smiled a great smile at Hestia she tackled him into the ground and began bawling into his chest and crying out "Thank you!" over and over again.

Now, Shirou was not as dense as he lead on and so he could tell that Hestia was not crying out of sadness but happiness at finally getting someone to agree to join her familia. And so he made sure to wrap his arms around Hestia's small frame and just let her cry it all out until she was ready to speak again.

That was in about thirty minutes. Shirou guessed that Hestia was just that happy and he could only imagine how many times she had been rejected before finally finding Shirou.

* * *

The next thing on the agenda was to bestow upon Shirou a falna which involved a drop of Hestia's blood being dripped onto Shirou's back. At this point she would have reacted violently to the star-shaped scar where Shirou's heart should be but the teleportation of the Grail seems to have returned Shirou's body to a more pristine condition. Anyway, the ritual was done inside the humble abode of Hestia that was located at an abandoned church at the outskirts of the city.

"Shirou-kun...it says here that you already possess Magic but I had just given you falna! You must be truly blessed to have unlocked such potential this early!" Ah yes, Shirou's magecraft would be qualified as Magic in this new world.

"What does it say regarding my Magic, Hestia-sama?"

"It just says Unlimited Blade Works but there's no description. Tell me, Shirou, what does it mean?"

And so Shirou saw fit to explain the concept behind tracing and how he could actualize an inner world that was basically his soul upon reality for a time. Hestia is his Goddess now and if he could not trust her with this then who could he trust?

"Shirou... please promise me to never activate the Unlimited Blade Works unless your life's in danger… if the other Gods and Goddesses ever found out about it they'd never leave you alone and just treat you like their own plaything!"

"Okay. I promise I won't unleash the Unlimited Blade Works unless absolutely necessary, Hestia-sama."

It made sense to Shirou. Hestia's explanation of how other Deities would see fit to use him as a plaything sounded a lot like what the Age of Gods was like back in his original world. So it would not hurt to keep his Reality Marble a secret as much as possible.

"Hestia-sama, I'm going to need some basic armor and a starting weapon so as not to arouse any suspicion from the Guild won't I?"

"That's right, Shirou. Luckily I have some money saved up already from my part time job!" Huh. Upon hearing such a thing Shirou could not help but feel such an image of his Kami-sama working a part time job being so out there and unbelievable that it renewed his resolve to be able to provide for the both of them in the long run.

After a quick trip to an affordable Hephaestus familia weapons and armor shop Shirou was outfitted with gauntlets, a chest piece and pauldrons that gleamed a nice silver sheen made by someone named Welf Crozzo. As for a starter weapon Shirou bought a well forged but still affordable steel longsword made by a different blacksmith. The armor costed only 7,800 valis and the sword only 2,000 valis leaving him with a bit of money leftover from the 10,000 valis budget that Hestia had given him.

Next was getting registered at the Guild so that he could officially become an adventurer and start hunting in the dungeon. Shirou ended up being assigned Eina Tulle as his advisor. Eina is a Half Elf with a slim body, pointy ears, shoulder length brown hair, and emerald colored eyes.

Eina took the liberty of explaining how things work with the Guild and the Dungeon and everything to Shirou so that he would know what's what. It was protocol after all to orient new adventurers regarding the goings on at the Guild which of course included the Dungeon, this was in order to make sure newbies didn't get the idea in their head to do whatever they pleased once they were granted passage into the Dungeon.

And not long after his orientation was finished Shirou went off into the Dungeon after securing a pouch to keep Magic Stones inside of which he would turn in to the Guild for a profit.

* * *

Shirou figured he would just try out the first five floors of the Dungeon in order to get a feel for things.

And so there he was hacking and slashing with his steel sword against Goblins and Kobolds. He defeated dozens and dozens of these monsters by the time he reached the fifth floor and just stayed there hunting.

That was when something strange happened. A Minotaur showed up intent on bashing his skull in, roaring bloody murder as it charged at him.

To be on the safe side that's when Shirou decided it was time to Reinforce his recently blessed body to the utmost limit. The Minotaur seemed to be moving in slow motion once he did that. He then pumped his steel sword full of prana in order to Break it.

Dashing with enough might to cause spiderweb cracks to appear on the Dungeon floor where he kicked off Shirou met the Minotaur head on and slashed it down the middle of it's body starting from head to midsection leaving the steel sword lodged inside of the monster's chest area.

Shirou then made sure to back away a few meters as the steel sword then exploded in a bright display of mystical energy since it had been pumped full of enough of prana.

Once most of the dust had cleared from the explosion that was when Shirou had noticed someone had arrived on the fifth floor just a few meters behind where the Minotaur had been.

Shirou was momentarily struck by the blonde beauty that had appeared in front of him dressed in armor holding a sword to the side at the ready. It would seem she had been chasing after the Minotaur that had come up from a lower level.

For several moments the two just stared at each other until Shirou decided to finally break the silence.

"Hello, I'm Shirou Emiya." Was all he said and that was when the girl decided to sheath her blade and approach him at a rather quick pace.

She held a hand out for him to shake and she said in a rather soft and delicate voice, "Hello, my name is Ais Wallenstein. How did you kill that Minotaur so easily?" Her gaze had sharpened slightly upon asking her question since, she was greatly interested in strength.

"With mediocre sword skills and a steel sword pumped full of magical energy." Shirou answered immediately with a serious expression on his face. He neglected to mention about the Reinforcement of his own body but, he had to keep some details to himself.

Ais's gaze softened upon hearing the answer and she responded immediately. "Ah. I see. Nicely done then, glad to see you are safe from the encounter. And sorry, it was my fault it was up here in the first place… Good day to you." Ais then turned around and headed back to the lower levels of the Dungeon probably to hunt some more.

Shirou would have collected the monster core of the Minotaur to add to his haul but it seems it had been destroyed by the explosion of the steel sword. And so he headed back to the Guild with what he had gathered from killing so many Goblins and Kobolds.

That day Shirou had earned a whopping 50,000 valis from all the Goblins and Kobolds he had killed. Given the expenses for his equipment Shirou thought it to be quite a good haul for a first day and it was.

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 **That's all I got for now, I hope this was a fun read. Next chapter will be out either within a week or several weeks. It could even be months. It really depends on my mood. Take care!**


	2. Ch 1: Kensei

**Author's Note: I responded to some of the reviews through Private Messages because I felt that they deserved direct responses. I am thankful to all the reviewers so far though! All the positive feedback this story has gotten so far motivated me to get to writing the next chapter asap. So once again, thank you! Thanks so much also to all who followed, favorited and just plain old read my story! Here we go.**

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 **Chapter 1: Kensei**

It started with a rumor about how a level 1 adventurer had defeated a Minotaur that made its way up to a lower level of the dungeon. In one blow. Of course at first no one gave any credence to the rumor, they simply refused to believe some no name newbie adventurer that was just starting out was able to pull off such a feat, on his first day no less.

Nobody believed it possible until the Sword Princess herself, Ais Wallenstein gave her own account of witnessing the event. That's when people started changing their tune about it.

Then came in two other rumors.

The first new rumor came in a week since the start of the supposed adventurer's first day, there was talk of how a thousand Goblins and Kobolds spawned throughout floors 1-4 and spilled over onto floor five. All the level 1 adventurers present at the time were sure they were going to die in the face of such a horde. But they didn't die. Not a single one died that day. How is this possible you may ask? Well, all the witnesses say the same thing about how they were able to survive. There was a blur, a silver blur with a hint of red and black that came swooping in slashing out against all of the Goblins and Kobolds that spawned. Most were decapitated, others were slashed from shoulder to hip or stabbed through various vital points. But all the monsters were killed. And if the rumor is to be believed, it was done by one man. Perhaps the number of monsters was exaggerated, perhaps the survivors embellished their side of the story here and there but some details were the same no matter what.

The one that saved them? Had red hair, amber eyes, silver armor and wielded two swords at any given time. This was the description given of the man that would occasionally appear once he stopped blurring all over the place. The monsters that attacked? Just Goblins and Kobolds but it is always an army that is described as the attacking force. No one knows what prompted the dungeon to spawn so many monsters throughout the first few floors but all were decidedly thankful no tragedy had occurred. Oh yeah, the blur also made sure to collect all Magic Stones as he fought. The survivors rationalized this as the reason he never asked for recompense from them.

The second rumor came in the second week. There was talk of a rapid increase in the spawn rate for the Frog Shooter (A frog monster that has one large eye. It attacks by shooting out its long tongue.) and War Shadow (A dark humanoid monster that has long arms with three claws that are sharp like knives. It is the strongest monster on the 6th Floor.) out on the 6th floor of the dungeon. At the time it happened, supposedly the only one present on the 6th floor was the Silver Blur, or Shirou Emiya his name seemed to be which had been spreading like wildfire since the rumor of the Minotaur came about. Not to mention the incident with the Goblin-Kobold army. No wait, that's not quite right… He wasn't the only one there at the time. He was there with a supporter! Some Pallum named Liliruca Arde or something that was there to help him carry Drop Items and Magic Stones. There we go. Anyway, the respawn rate seemed to be ten minute intervals only so the Frog Shooter and War Shadows were spawning by the dozens at an incredible rate. Even with his insane speed and sword work he could not hope to defeat them all in time while protecting his petite supporter. Then he pulled off something amazing, nay, beyond amazing it was simply the stuff of legends.

He spoke out two words: "Trace on!" And then hundreds of steel swords of expert make rained down upon the Frog Shooters and War Shadows in quick succession for about half an hour and all the while he was still blurring around hacking and slashing the remainder from the spawn rate. It is said that he kept fighting like that for three hours straight without running out of Mind and not a scratch was made upon his silver armor nor upon his Pallum supporter. The only things that he lost were the two steel swords he had been wielding at the time which lost their strength from all the use they got in such a short amount of time.

A Hero of the Sword. A Sword Saint or Kensei. Those were the new nicknames spreading about after the second rumor which came after the Minotaur one began to spread. And so the story shall now pick up during the aftermath of that great battle against Frog Shooters and War Shadows. With an exhausted Shirou lying down on his back with his head resting on the lap of his supporter Lili.

* * *

Shirou was simply resting on Lili's lap so that he could catch his breath and then he would begin collecting all the Magic Stones and War Shadow's Finger Blade strewn about the battle field that was the 6th floor of the dungeon. Then he realized something wet was falling down upon his face and then he opened his eyes to the sight of Lili crying, and quite a lot it would seem.

"Lili is sorry, Shirou-sama… Hrrk! Lili is so sorry she tried to trick and steal from you! Even though Lili tried to run away after stealing all the money you had on hand, Shirou-sama still rushed in to save Lili from the monsters that spawned like crazy! Thank you so much for saving Lili! Waaaaaahhhh!"

That was when Shirou instantly knew what to do. He sat up kneeling seiza style in front of Lili and hugged her close to his chest where she continued to bawl her heart out. "It's okay, Lili… I forgive you and of course I rushed in to save you. I will always rush in to save you, whenever you need me. You know why? Because that's what a Hero of Justice does. Haha!"

About ten minutes of crying later Lili looks up into Shirou's amber eyes full of mirth and kindness and his radiant smile and begins to smile herself. "Thank you so much, Shirou-sama!"

And then the Pallum supporter and her Hero began the arduous task of collecting the myriad Magic Stones and Drop Items from the War Shadows. The total amounted to 500 Magic Stones that were not destroyed in the fight from the Frog Shooters and War Shadows and 250 War Shadow's Finger Blade.

Shirou liked what he saw when he used Structural Analysis on the War Shadow's Finger Blade, it seemed it would make a good crafting material for two swords that he would make. After having stored into the Unlimited Blade Works all of the current weapons in the Hephaestus Familia shop on the 8th floor of Babel he had a good grasp on the best smithing techniques of this world and so decided to forge his next two swords himself.

The haul of the day amounted to 250,000 valis and he gave half of that to Lili as payment for her services that day. She tried to decline her share as penance for what she tried to do but Shirou was having none of it and made sure she accepted the payment. From defeating the horde of Goblins and Kobolds the other week Shirou had roughly 500,000 valis saved up but minus his weekly food expenses up to this week that would be… 493,700 valis plus the 125,000 valis he earned today will bring his savings up to 618,700 valis.

But that does not include the expenses he will be accruing from paying to use a forge, the materials he will be using in the forging process, maintenance on his armor to be done by Welf Crozzo...and whatever else may come up but for now 618,700 valis is more or less what Shirou has saved up to this point in time.

"Shirou-sama, do you really still want Lili to stick around as your supporter?"

"Yes, Lili. You sure know your way around gathering various loot and well you've really grown on me in this short time so please. Be my supporter, Lili." Shirou then hugs her close to his chest once more and the petite Pallum stills at his touch.

"Hai, Shirou-sama…" She returns the hug for a few scant moments then dashes off to return to her own Familia.

Shirou then makes his way back to the abandoned church where he resides with Hestia.

"Shirou-kun! Thank you for your hard work today as well!" He was immediately glomped by the petite Goddess upon his arrival back at the church.

"Hestia-sama! Too close, too close! You're too close!" Hestia's bosoms were rubbing and bouncing against his chest so much it was all Shirou could do to not faint from the stimulation!

"Hahahahaha! Oh Shirou-kun, there's no need to be so shy, we even share a bed so what's the problem?!" Giving in Shirou settles his hands on Hestia's hips and then promptly lifts her up so she can straddle him.

"Ah-ah, you know I can't resist you when you're this cute, Hestia-sama." The kiss they share at that moment is like Magic that seeps warmth into their very bones.

That's right, Shirou thinks to himself, I'm lucky enough to be madly in love with this wonderful Goddess of mine. It was after the fiasco with that army of monsters wherein Hestia nursed Shirou back to health all night. The closeness and intimacy of it all was too much for their feeble hearts and they could not help but fall madly in love for each other right then and there.

It was the culmination of the build up of all the home cooked meals being shared together and Shirou always coming home to her after a long day at work in the dungeon that led to them growing closer and closer each passing they for that first week. The fiasco with the army of monsters acted as the catalyst to hit the final nail in the coffin as it were and the two were smitten with each other since that night.

Anyway, soon after the makeout session that ensued in their bedroom Hestia updated Shirou's Status since he had then told her of the most recent incident he had dealt with in the dungeon. They soon called it a night after dinner together.

And then for two more weeks Shirou hunted War Shadows for the most part in the dungeon with Lili at his side all the while. Gathering more of the War Shadow's Finger Blade in order to make sure he had a sturdy base for the two swords he planned on making.

In those two weeks Shirou had amassed an enormous wealth of 2,500,000 valis but 2,000,000 valis of that had been spent paying off Hestia's debt. Then Shirou spent 400,000 valis more in order to have the church completely refurbished. It now looks spick and span with all the rebuilding and redecorating that was done, new furniture and whatnot was included for free as a package deal.

And so, it has been one month since Shirou's start as an adventurer in the city of Orario and he has done quite well for himself. Earned three nicknames and Denatus was still two months away. Most likely his Alias would end up being one of his more popular nicknames at this rate, it would save the Gods and Goddesses time.

At any rate, it is now night time on the last day of the month and Hestia was straddling Shirou's back as per usual since she was updating his Status. And so far it was looking real good:

Name: Shirou Emiya

Level: 1

Strength: B799

Endurance: A830

Dexterity: C650

Agility: A890

Magic: S999

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It was the next day and Shirou was currently pounding away in a forge he rented out from the Hephaestus Familia. He melted down all of the War Shadow's Finger Blade he had gathered up to this point and poured it all into two molds for steel swords. He then heated that up and forged steel hilts and guards, melded it all together with some Alteration and then he proceeded to Reinforce the sharpness and durability of the finished products to the utmost limit bringing it to C rank level rivaling the base stats of Kanshou and Bakuya.

He named the two dual War Shadow longswords "Twin Shadow," it was direct and to the point and still had a bit of style so he was going with it.

He sheathed Twin Shadow on his back using leather scabbards that he had made beforehand, and they fit like a glove since he made sure to get all of the measurements just right.

Shirou was thinking that he'd just keep Twin Shadow around as his signature weapons, because every Hero needed something to be recognized by and he wanted it to be swords he had made himself. Maybe one day it would reach the ranks of his own Noble Phantasm as he made a name for himself in this day and age.

The blades of Twin Shadow were dark as midnight with a slight silver to the edge, the hilts and guard were polished steel and had black wrapping for a good grip. The shape of the blades were simply straight and double edged like any regular steel longsword. One of the properties of War Shadow's Finger Blade Shirou discovered was that they were completely malleable when it came to Magic so he could just repair with Alteration and Reinforce them as many times as he wanted. And once Shirou can get his hands on some rare materials from the dungeon he can go about mixing them into Twin Shadow to improve the swords. Also, with some Alteration he could grant the sharpness of say, Durandal onto his swords indefinitely bringing him to just some minor maintenance on the blades every now and then from having to house such a strong power.

With Twin Shadow on his back and with his trademark silver armor on Shirou made his way back into the dungeon for some more monster hunting. Ah yes, Shirou had long since made sure that from his regular clothes to his silver armor were Reinforced to the utmost limit just in case he ever got hit, so far he hasn't been hit once but better safe than sorry.

"Wow! Those are some pretty good looking swords, Shirou-sama! Did you really make them yourself?"

"That's right, Lili. And today we're going to test them out on some Killer Ants."

The Killer Ant. A red ant monster with four legs and two arms. It has a hard shell and has high attack, causing it to be called a new adventurer killer. It can use pheromones to attract companions in a pinch.

And so there Shirou and Lili were on the 7th floor of the dungeon fighting off against a swarm of Killer Ants. Twin Shadow was slicing through their hard shell like a hot knife through butter without any problem, and that's with just the Reinforcement and the monster slaying properties of Kanshou and Bakuya for an added kick to their strength.

Lili was helping fight too with a brand new, high end crossbow she bought recently with her earnings. She kept aiming for a spot right between their eyes.

When the swarm of Killer Ants seemingly tripled in size that was when Shirou had a veritable wall of Twin Shadow be Traced. He Traced exactly a dozen pairs of Twin Shadow filled to the brim with prana and then launched it all at the gathered army of Killer Ants. The resulting explosions killed the monster by the hundreds.

The remainder were quickly dealt with through some good old fashioned hacking and slashing. The Magic Stones were promptly gathered and the two companions made their way back to the guild to sell their spoils. They earned about 1,000,000 valis each from that excursion, there really were a lot of Killer Ants that tried to kill them that day.

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 **I typed all of this in a few hours from what I can tell. I hope it is to your liking, dear readers! Till next time!**


	3. Ch 2: Avalon and Experimentation

**Author's Note: I'm glad that most readers enjoyed the last chapter. However, yet again, people have pointed out that things are going too fast and my pacing is bad basically so with this chapter I hope to begin remedying that.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Avalon and Experimentation**

It was the next day after testing out Twin Shadow on Killer Ants and Shirou was just laying in bed far longer than usual because he got to thinking. He wondered and wondered over and over again as to why the dungeon was reacting so violently to his presence for some time now.

It was like the dungeon was actively trying to kill him lately by sending out more monsters than what is the norm and Shirou wanted to know **why.** If this continues, other adventurers going into the dungeon on a regular basis will be put in danger simply because Shirou was around and he could not let that go on because at some point somebody was bound to get seriously hurt. Or worse. Shirou refuses to let that happen, he must figure out why the dungeon is reacting to him this way and somehow stop it from continuing then he can go on his merry and continue hunting monsters all the while watching out for people that need his help.

Okay, thinking of this logically it would seem that the dungeon has somehow mistaken Shirou for some sort of God. Because Gods and Goddesses were not allowed in the dungeon as he knew because they would be in great danger since the dungeon would do its novel best to kill them somehow. But Shirou did not possess any Divinity himself so what could be prompting the dungeon to react in such a way regardless?

I mean, the only thing Shirou has relatively close to Divinity at all times would… be… Avalon…

AHA!

Shirou sat up immediately on the bed upon realizing this! Which led to Hestia who was clinging to him and lying down on his chest to slip off and fall onto the bed but she stayed asleep somehow.

Avalon, the hallowed scabbard of Excalibur, the embodiment of the utopia King Arthur seeks, originally stolen from her shortly before the Battle of Camlann due to the machinations of Morgan le Fay. It is a luxurious piece of equipment made of gold and decorated with blue enamel that seems more like a treasure to show dignity and nobility like a crown or staff than a weapon. No one knows what kind of Divine Mystery it is made from, but it was created by fairies along with Excalibur, an inscription written in Fairy Letters engraved on its center to show that it is not the work of man. It bequeaths limited immortality through constant regeneration, as well as preventing physical deterioration caused by aging. Or at least that's what it could do for Saber when she had possession of it. Shirou called on all this information as he cast Structural Analysis on Avalon that currently resides within him.

Okay. So the dungeon seems to perceive the Divine Mystery of Avalon as my own Divinity which causes the dungeon to try to kill me by causing hordes of monsters to appear. I'm actually surprised it hasn't spawned stronger monsters yet… that's probably what it's going to try next if I don't do something about Avalon…

Alright, looks like I'm going to have to have a talk with my dear Hestia-sama because I'm going to need her to keep a secret of mine. In more ways than one.

"Hestia-sama… please wake up, there's something of dire importance I need to speak with you about…" Shirou shakes Hestia by the shoulders gently in order to rouse her from her slumber.

"Nnnn, Shirou-kun… Good morning kiiisss~ Mmmmm~" Hestia proceeds to pucker her lips and extend them towards Shirou.

Obliging with the request Shirou locks lips with Hestia and as soon as he does he is assaulted with the scent and taste of what can only be described as _home._ Freshly baked bread laced with honey, warm soup on a cold night, and the feeling of happiness when you come home to a loved one are just some of the myriad sensations that Shirou always feels when he engages in intimate acts with Hestia. Naturally, it must be because of a trickle of Divine power leaking through Hestia's limiters but they never do any harm so Shirou just enjoys them as they come.

"Ahh~ So, Shirou-kun, what was that about needing to talk to me about something important?" Shirou and Hestia now sat upright on the bed they shared and are currently seated seiza style across from each other.

"It's about this artifact I have embedded inside of me…" Shirou then tells Hestia a heavily edited version of events regarding the fire, his father Kiritsugu, the sheath Avalon and so on so but nothing was given away that would hint at Shirou being an interdimensional traveler because that would open a whole other can of worms that could only lead to trouble and massive headaches all around. But he told Hestia all the necessary information, especially regarding the Divine nature of Avalon which seems to be causing Shirou all sorts of problems with the dungeon.

"So, what are we going to do about it Shirou-kun?" Hestia asks with a concerned look on her face and worry deep in her tone.

"I was thinking that we could transfer Avalon onto you, Hestia-sama."

"EEEEHHHH?!"

"Now, hear me out. This way you'd have something to keep you in good health and heal you when necessary even when I'm not around. And your naturally divine nature would mask the presence of Avalon within you so it should be alright in the long run."

"Well, alright Shirou-kun… if you really think it is for the best then by all means, transfer Avalon onto me."

Okay, Shirou was not too well versed in the process of bringing out Avalon from within him and then embedding it into another person but we're in the Age of Gods. Virtually anything is possible in such an era. I'll just brute force my way through it all with all magic circuits pumping prana in order to perform the mystery!

"Trace on…" Shirou reached within himself with his feelings and placed his hands over his heart and concentrated on the presence of Avalon. He focused on the sheath and pulled with the might of all 27 magic circuits of his pumping prana in order to do what he wanted…

In a flash of golden light Avalon appears from his chest and proceeds to hover above his outstretched hands that now lay palms open. Shirou then concentrates and proceeds to embed the legendary sheath into the body of Hestia…

Avalon's transfer into Hestia's body goes smoothly and painlessly for both parties involved and by the end of it Shirou feels winded but not too exhausted and his entire body is heating up from the use of his circuits in such a manner but nothing was damaged as far as he can tell.

Soon after the transfer was complete Shirou and Hestia went off to brush their teeth and begin their day with a hearty meal. After which Hestia would go off to buy groceries as per usual and hang out with her friend Hephaestus and do whatever else she did to pass the time until Shirou gets back from his time in the dungeon.

* * *

As Shirou made his way to meet up with Lili he pondered the uses of Magic Stones. They were used as a power source for all forms of technology in this world. Could they be used for something else perhaps? Given the mystical nature of the Magic Stones, what sort of effect could they have on say, Monsters? I mean, what would happen if a monster were to consume Magic Stones? Would it simply explode from all the excess energy it just took in? Or would it grow in strength?

Given what little knowledge Shirou had of video game mechanics back in his home dimension, it would stand to reason that Magic Stones would strengthen monsters in this world due to being the core of monsters and so the source of the strength of said monsters. Well, they must be what determines the individual strength of a monster since destroying the Magic Stone results in the immediate death of said monster right?

The reason Shirou was contemplating a way to strengthen monsters is because he wanted to become stronger and beyond raising his stats that meant leveling up as soon as he could. But then, leveling up would require Shirou to accomplish a feat that would impress the gods themselves and defeating hordes of monsters may seem impressive but, apparently not enough to impress the gods of his deeds it would seem since he was still level one.

Bottom line is, Shirou desired strength. Because it was his belief that the strong reigned supreme in the world and it was through absolute strength that Shirou could become a true Hero of Justice because if he was strong enough then he could help virtually anyone that was in danger from monsters or what have you.

So in the spirit of gaining more power, Shirou was up for a little experiment. Since he was most familiar with hunting War Shadows at the moment from gathering so many of the necessary Drop Item he decided to experiment on one War Shadow for now.

"Lili, would you be up for conducting a potentially dangerous experiment with me in the dungeon?"

"Sure, Shirou-sama! I'd follow you to the ends of the world as long as it was you that I was following!" Lili declares with her chest puffed out and with a genuine smile on her face filled with nothing but the utmost admiration she held for Shirou.

"... you're not even going to question me about the experiment? About how it's dangerous? Anything?"

"No, because there's no need. Lili knows that Shirou-sama would never let anything bad happen to her on purpose and that Shirou-sama would keep her safe to the best of his ability no matter what. Lili trusts you with all her heart, Shirou-sama." Lili looks at Shirou and just gives him this look that conveys how much she believes in him and Shirou knows it to be true because when people have gone through life or death situations together it really brings them closer together no matter what.

Shirou could not help but place on of his hands on top of Lili's head and begin patting her with great care. "Thanks, Lili. It really means so much to me that you trust me so much. Let's get going into the dungeon."

On the way to the dungeon Shirou explained his experiment to Lili. They would be focusing on slaying War Shadows on the the sixth floor. Shirou warns that this venture will not be as lucrative as their other hunts in the dungeon since a good portion of the Magic Stones shall be fed to one War Shadow in particular. The occasional Frog Shooter that showed up was fine and would be dealt with accordingly as per usual and the Magic Stones that would come from them will also be fed to one War Shadow in the hopes of expediting the process of strengthening a monster.

So basically, the plan was to kill a bunch of monsters on the sixth floor of the dungeon all the while maneuvering in such a way to avoid being killed and feeding one War Shadow a bunch of Magic Stones, if the first one doesn't end up making it explode or something.

"But Shirou-sama, will we still be able to do all of that for the experiment with how strange the dungeon has been acting lately? Won't an insane amount of monsters show up again and cause you to rain down swords upon them effectively making this a moot endeavor?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Lili. I have feeling the dungeon will just spawn monsters as normal this time. Just you wait and see."

On their way to the sixth floor of the dungeon Shirou and Lili ended up encountering quite a few Goblins, Kobolds and the odd Dungeon Lizard here and there but all of these were killed off with cold, calculating efficiency between the adventurer and supporter duo. The Magic Stones for these monsters were gathered up to be traded in at the Guild once this little experiment was over and done with.

Upon arriving in the sixth floor the red haired human and his pallum companion waited for about ten minutes before starting to kill the War Shadows that began spawning from the ceiling and walls of the dungeon. Any that got close enough to hit them were promptly killed either by Twin Shadow or crossbow bolt in that time.

This was in order to maximize the Magic Stone count from the start and this was to be repeated every time there was a lull in the battle.

Shirou then zeroed in on one War Shadow in the far back and with a quick "Trace on!" he manifested a copy of Enkidu that he had witnessed Gilgamesh use before to restrain Hercules which proceeded to snake around the War Shadow and pinned it to a section of one of the walls.

Applying Reinforcement to his body Shirou then pushed off from his initial position which caused the usual spiderweb cracks to form on the floor, his body blurring into action with Twin Shadow already drawn in his hands from having to kill War Shadows that got too close earlier.

"Blueprint set: Kanshou and Bakuya. Renew Alteration. Property: Monster Slaying. Trace on!" To make sure that Twin Shadow still had the monster slaying nature of Kanshou and Bakuya Shirou quickly called upon the blueprints of the the said Noble Phantasm, cast Alteration and imbued the said properties anew in Twin Shadow.

Next came the usual scene of Shirou darting around seemingly nothing but a silver blur that beheaded, bifurcated, slashed from shoulder to hip or just plain stabbed in the head the gathered War Shadows.

There was the constant fire of crossbow bolts as well that were going about at a rate of twenty bolts per minute from his pallum supporter, all shots aimed at where the blur had been and almost always landing on the head of a War Shadow.

The War Shadows soon began to get really agitated from being slaughtered so easily by this silver blur that was becoming ominously familiar with them and when the time came for Shirou to slash at one War Shadow the rest soon charged in at the exact moment he began the slash and grabbed hold of him once his arm had completed the motion.

It was five War Shadows that had surrounded and grabbed hold of Shirou and once they had him they soon began striking at him with their claws. They aimed everywhere from his face to his chest to his shoulders and his legs.

They thought they finally had him. But they were wrong. Shirou blocked every single strike that was made by the War Shadows, if not by using his two swords then by using his gauntlets or moving into such an angle that the strike met some other piece of armor be it his pauldrons or his chest plate. Hell, Shirou even blocked with some kicks and the War Shadows were unable to slash through his Reinforced clothing.

And after blocking all the strikes Shirou spun in place with Twin Shadow outstretched and beheaded all five of the War Shadows in quick succession.

In order to avoid being surrounded like that again, since it was such a hindrance in terms of time, Shirou upped his speed by putting in more of an effort to quickly kill the War Shadows. Through the combination of his Falna, Reinforcement and resolve Shirou somehow shifted into another gear of speed he had not realized he was capable of at his level until that moment.

In fact, it felt so beyond his current capabilities that he surmised he must have just developed his first true skill since gaining his Falna. Also, the fact his whole body had begun to glow blue really tipped him off to such an occurrence.

But that was something to check once he got back to the church and met up with Hestia-sama. For now, he had an experiment to finish.

Soon enough, all the War Shadows had been defeated sans the one that was all chained up. Now, Shirou was aware that since what was being held down possessed no divinity then the strength of Enkidu would only amount to normal steel chains but Shirou wasn't too worried about this fact. He had made sure to Reinforce the strength of the chains upon Tracing them, just in case. And they had not been broken through all the while he was killing the surrounding War Shadows with Lili so all was well.

For this next part, there's no other way to describe it but as Shirou force feeding Magic Stones to the chained up War Shadow. After confirming that monsters consuming Magic Stones did not result in an explosion of said monster, Shirou took to force feeding the War Shadow with much gusto.

Shirou would pick up a Magic Stone, jam it into the mouth of the War Shadow, then punching its mouth closed so that it would crunch up the Magic Stone and swallow it. Did Shirou have to punch the War Shadow in the gut to get it to open its mouth? Yes, yes he did from time to time. It was no problem for Shirou.

And then the cycle continued for nine hours straight. Some adventurers that would pass by Shirou and Lili would give them strange looks for what they were doing but the duo paid them no mind. By the end of nine hours the War Shadow that was chained up had been fed more than a hundred Magic Stones of its brethren. That was when a change had started with it.

The War Shadow then grew several inches more in height and gained a more muscular physique, it roared out in defiance that was heard all the way up in the surface of the dungeon.

Then it broke off its bindings that had the Reinforced strength of steel chains. That was the moment Shirou chose to declare in his mind that the experiment was a success since he succeeded strengthening a monster.

The question now was, was this stronger than normal monster enough to impress the gods?

Jumping back to avoid being slashed by the sharper looking claws on the strengthened War Shadow Shirou readies Twin Shadow. "Lili, stay back. It's too dangerous for you to have this one focus his attention on you, so just let me handle this okay?" Not waiting to hear her response Shirou charges in to engage the War Shadow.

Shirou slashes rapidly and with all of his Reinforced strength at the War Shadow but it met all of his attacks with its own, it would seem it was able to keep up with Shirou's regular Reinforced speed. His new speed skill not being used at the moment since Shirou wanted to test the waters for now with this strengthened monster.

After sending dozens of slashes at the War Shadow for five minutes Shirou resorted to the tried and true method of leaving openings in his stance to bait stronger enemies into attacking where he wanted. Criss crossing his swords he pushes back against the arms of the War Shadow effectively leaving open his chest area to the monster.

At that moment, Shirou was so sure of his judgment of the War Shadow's attack speed he did not see it coming. The War Shadow in a display of a fair amount of cunning upped the speed at which its arms would slash at Shirou catching him off guard, clawing through his silver chest plate in an ex pattern of its claws.

Shirou was driven back a few feet towards where Lili was by the force of the slashes, his chest having been opened up in such a way led to blood spraying in a brilliant shower of red.

"SHIROU-SAMA! NOOOO!" Lili quickly fires a crossbow bolt at the War Shadow's head, right between the eyes but the War Shadow catches it before it hits the mark and crushes it beneath its clawed hand.

The War Shadow then dashes forward and backhands Lili towards a wall of the dungeon and the strength of the impact causes an indentation of her body to be imprinted in the wall. She falls off to the floor in but mere moments.

Slowly, almost tauntingly the War Shadow makes its way towards the downed Lili, twitching its claws in anticipation of what comes next.

As the War Shadow reaches the pallum's body, lowering its upper body with its mouth stretching wide open it then hears a cold and menacing voice from somewhere behind it that goes… " **Hey.** "

It was nothing but a simple word to catch its attention, and it has heard this voice before. And yet, something in the way the voice had turned so cold and ominous had the War Shadow's spine going cold from the chill running up and down it.

The War Shadow stiffens, then quickly straightens up and turns around to quickly deal with the threat that has made itself known. What it sees is the swordsman from before that it had slashed open at the chest.

Shirou's form begins to glow a bright blue once more, accentuating his eyes that hold nothing but contempt for the creature before it.

It happened in a blur of movement that the newly strengthened War Shadow could not even begin to keep track of. Both of its arms were slashed clean off before it could so much as raise them in defence.

"Don't." Shirou said from up in the air where he had just finished slicing off the arms of the War Shadow.

"Touch." He said next as he descended and stabbed both legs of the War Shadow with his two swords, pinning it in place. All the while the War Shadow never stopped screaming in pain.

" **Lili!** " Shirou roared in a voice that sounded so much more menacing than usual, couple with his bleeding chest and blue glow he cut quite the intimidating visage. He then Traced a Broken copy of half of Twin Shadow and threw it into the War Shadow, right into its mouth coming out the other end of its head.

Still glowing blue from his new speed skill, Shirou pulls out Twin Shadow from the War Shadow's legs, sheaths them on his back and then quickly picks up Lili in a princess carry and dashes off far away from the War Shadow.

The War Shadow then exploded in a brilliant flash and was no more. The Magic Stone was engulfed in the explosion too but Shirou could not care less about that right now.

Laying Lili down against a section of the wall close to the floor's entrance Shirou then brings out a healing potion and has Lili drink it slowly.

"Lili saw it all, Shirou-sama… Lili is so happy Shirou-sama cares for her so much to get angry like that… And thank you, for saving Lili again…" She said this after downing the healing potion and fell asleep soon after from all that she had to deal with in such a short amount of time.

Carrying Lili within his arms after downing a healing potion himself, Shirou then makes his way back to the church where he stays with Hestia so that Lili may rest their for the night. She can just go back to the Soma Familia tomorrow. And Shirou can just trade in the Magic Stones that were gathered today at a later time. Right now, Lili's safety was more important.

* * *

"Shirou-kun, I know I mentioned from time to time about how I wished to meet your supporter but… I imagined it being under more ideal circumstances… Oh well, just lay her down in the guest bed for now!" Hestia started off with an aggrieved tone but then morphed into a more cheerful one by the end.

"Hestia-sama, could you please update my Status? I fought a particularly strong monster and want to see if I have leveled up yet."

Upon updating his Status however, Hestia noted an increase in all of his Basic Stats besides Magic but still no level up. Shirou had explained everything about his experiment to Hestia all the way down to the big War Shadow fight. He got an earful for being so careless in a fight but Hestia was just glad he was okay in the end.

"Oh Shirou-kun, it seems you've finally unlocked your first skill though! Let's see here… Speed Demon: shrouds the user in a blue aura and augments Agility by one rank as long as it is active, drains on stamina. Impressive! With this, you could theoretically break through S-rank in Agility somewhere down the line Shirou-kun! As expected of my first Familia member!" Hestia jumps on Shirou and gives him a big, warm hug and tackles him into their shared bed.

She probably did that because she could tell Shirou was really feeling down about how the fight with the big War Shadow went down. He most definitely blames himself for letting Lili get hurt like that even though he got tricked by that monster.

I'll never get caught off guard like that ever again… Shirou kept thinking to himself along those lines as he drifted off to sleep that night with Hestia in his arms.

He would need to buy new armor to replace the broken set but he hoped Welf Crozzo had a newer set in stock.

Anyway, that was neither here nor there at the moment. Right now, in this moment he was thankful that Lili was safe and that he was back home in the arms of his beloved Goddess.

* * *

 **I pulled out all the stops and typed this chapter over the course of two sessions I believe? I hope it was fun to read! I am sorry to say I am not sure when the next chapter will be posted, maybe one more before the year ends? I don't know, we shall see. Take care!**


	4. Ch 3: Some Training is Needed

**Author's Note: As best as I can, I am trying to follow the advice I have received from A Dyslexic Writer and Dadlop3. I aim to get better at writing and so, I shall strive to do better.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Some Training is Needed**

Shirou woke up with a start.

"Lili!" He shrieked while sitting upright, desperately holding onto the warm body that was entwined to his.

Gripping tightly to the body of Hestia he takes several calming breaths as he wildy looks around the room. He sees the cooking tools off to the side, the dining area in the center and then finally his gaze lingers on the guest bed.

On top of the guest bed, as to be expected, is the still form of Lili Arde which appears to be breathing evenly still as depicted by the rise and fall of the chest. Shirou finally relaxes as he realizes that Lili was in fact safe within the church where he resides with his Goddess. Right where he left her the night before.

Miraculously, his actions did not awaken the slumbering Goddess nor the recovering supporter. Shuffling out of the bed he shared with Hestia, Shirou makes sure to gently remove Hestia from his person and places her back on the bed without rousing her from her sleep.

Thinking that going back to sleep would be a fruitless endeavor given the nightmare he just had of Lili being slashed apart by the Strengthened War Shadow, Shirou decides to get started on making breakfast. After brushing his teeth that is.

Still being careful not to make too much noise, Shirou walks over to where the cooking tools are and then brings them over to the makeshift fireplace. He first fills in a pot with just the right amount of water and then has this hang over the fireplace. Quickly tracing a stone and a knife he creates sparks to start a flame, dismissing the stone but keeping the knife.

Bringing the necessary ingredients for a beef and vegetable stew over to the dining table he chops and dices all of the necessary ingredients, having washed them beforehand. Finally, once the water starts to boil he carefully throws in all of the chopped ingredients along with all of the necessary spices and then leaves the stew to simmer for about 15 minutes to 20 minutes.

As he intermittently mixes the stew that is cooking Shirou could not help but go over how stupid he was when dealing with that last War Shadow.

"Damn it!" He should have been more alert!

"Damn it!" He should have been smarter!

"Damn it all!" He should have used his new skill with abandon so that he would have been faster right from the get go!

Grimacing and tightening his hold on the large spoon he was using to mix the stew, Shirou kept cursing his own incompetence for quite some time. Both vocally and internally.

It was about 2 minutes before the stew would be ready that a pair of arms clad in white gloves embraced Shirou from behind.

Shirou stiffens at the touch at first but then relaxes upon realizing it was just Hestia of course. "Hestia-sama… I'm sorry, if I ended up waking you…"

Hestia tightens her grip around Shirou's abdomen, pressing her bountiful chest rather deeply into his back as she breathes in his scent. "Shirou… you know that if you need to talk that I'm always right here for you… you do know that right?"

Shirou stops mixing the stew, it's almost done anyway and he'd been mixing it for a good while now. "... I know, Hestia-sama. Would you mind helping me set the table first though?"

Killing the fire by pouring down some water in a pail, Shirou then takes the pot filled with the beef and vegetable stew from where it is hung and brings it over to the dining table. At the same time, Hestia gathers three bowls for all the current occupants in the room and sets them down on the table, making sure to set her bowl next to Shirou's while Lili's was across from the two. She then set down a wooden spoon beside each of the bowls.

Carefully, so as not to spill any of the contents, Shirou pours into each of the three bowls using the large spoon to even it out. He got his measurements exactly right and filled each bowl to the brim, all of the stew from the pot had been used.

It was when Shirou and Hestia sat down next to each other at the table that silence reigned for a few moments. Then, Hestia decides to take the initiative and places a hand on one of Shirou's legs, squeezing it gently but firmly. "So? You wanted to talk right? So talk, Shirou."

Unable to look her way at the moment, Shirou shifts his gaze toward his bowl of stew and begins to share his thoughts. "I messed up, Hestia-sama. I messed up big time. Lili… because I wasn't careful enough she ended up getting hurt! And I… I!" Tears come unbidden and stream down Shirou's face as he lays bare the source of his shame.

Hestia then uses both her hands to cup Shirou's face, wiping away the tears as she makes him face her. Eye to eye their gazes met. Shirou thought he would see pity or sadness or something to that effect in her eyes. What he saw was not what he expected.

He saw a great sense of anger in Hestia's eyes at that moment. "SHIROU, YOU IDIOT!" Hestia then rams her forehead against his with all the strength she could muster from her position.

"AAAAGGGHHH! HESTIA-SAMA, WHHYYY?!" Shirou exclaims while holding onto his forehead which was currently throbbing like hell.

"Because you're being stupid! Adventurers and supporters lead dangerous lives, they are bound to get hurt every now and then! So you messed up recently, do better next time! So what if Lili could get hurt again like that? That's always going to be a possibility! So, what are you going to do about all that danger, huh Shirou?!"

Shirou stopped holding onto his forehead and looked to his Goddess. "I'm going to become stronger, Hestia-sama!"

Raising an eyebrow at his quick answer Hestia looks at him straight in the eye. "Is that all you need?"

Shaking his head Shirou stops for a moment and thinks. What else does he need to mitigate the danger he faces in the dungeon? It comes to him in the next moment. "I need Lili to become stronger as well! We need to be stronger together!"

Smiling at his response Hestia reaches around his neck and pulls him into a French kiss. "Good answer. And how, exactly, are you two going to become stronger together?"

Shirou smiles back at Hestia, the answer was a simple one. "Training. More specifically, I need to train Lili in the art of combat. That way, however much, she'll be able to keep up with me on our hunts."

Shifting around his seat Shirou then turns his attention to the guest bed and the form on top. "... Lili, I know you've been awake for a while now. Come join us for breakfast."

"Eep!" Lili sits up from the bed startled and then goes over to the dining table, a great red blush on her face at being found out. "Ah, I'll go brush my teeth first, Shirou-sama. Hestia-sama." She finishes with a bow towards the Goddess.

Upon joining the two at the table Lili looks at Shirou for a few moments before steeling herself to say what she has to say. "Lili doesn't blame you for what happened Shirou-sama. That monster got a lucky hit in and so Shirou-sama was down for a bit. Lili blames her own weakness for not being able to do much… That's why, Lili is up for whatever training Shirou-sama has in mind!"

And with that, everyone began eating the wonderful stew Shirou had made. From the very first bite to the very last bite, Hestia and Lili kept making lewd noises as they ate. Shirou wondered if they were okay but felt, for some reason, that asking them if they were okay would be the wrong move. So, he left it alone like all of the other times when it was just him and Hestia eating.

* * *

After breakfast everyone pitched in when clearing out the table, washing all of the dishes and utensils and putting away everything in their proper place. Hestia soon after left for the day, to hang out with Hephaestus she said.

Shirou tells Lili to get ready for the day as well. As she went off to shower Shirou gathers the remains of his ruined armor. "Trace, on…" Placing one hand on the ruined chest plate he channels prana from one circuit in order to cast Alteration on the armor and shapes it into a short sword the right size for a pallum, but he makes sure it is blunt all around.

Now there will be no waste from the ruined armor. Next up Shirou dawns his usual attire of white shirt with blue sleeves, black breeches and black boots. He makes sure that all of his apparel is still Reinforced to the utmost limit as well. He made sure to cast Alteration on the ruined shirt and jacket from the fight with the last War Shadow, transforming them into mere sheets to be used for whatever. He leaves Twin Shadow in one of the corners in the room, close to his bed really because he will not be using it for quite some time.

Soon enough Lili emerges all washed up and dressed in her usual attire, but opts to leave her hood down. Shirou could not help but admire how cute Lili looks. She should keep her hood down more often.

When they are right at the entrance to the church, Shirou stops Lili from going further and tousles her hair as he speaks to her. "Lili, my plan is for two weeks we do intensive training. For one week, you will train by fighting against me for several hours on end each day for seven days straight. Then for the second week, you shall take point in the dungeon while I watch your back as we hunt. However, for the purpose of training we shall only use the first four levels of the dungeon."

Shirou then hands her the shortsword he made. "For you Lili, to be used only when we are sparring against each other."

"Hai, Shirou-sama!" Lili salutes in affirmation with a smile never leaving her face.

Shirou found her cheer to be infectious and soon found himself smiling back. "But before we begin our training I'm going to need a new set of armor."

The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing, and there was a nice cool breeze in the air. It was a lovely day indeed for a stroll in Orario.

And so it is with peace of mind that Shirou walks around with his pallum supporter at his side. First off they gathered funds from the Guild, also traded in the Magic Stones from their last excursion into the dungeon. Then, they made their way into the 8th level Hephaestus Familia shop in Babel.

There was nothing much different from the usual sights all the while, crowds of diversified adventurers here and there in the Guild and now in the shop they were in.

Shirou made sure to catalogue into the Unlimited Blade Works all of the newer weapons on display around the shop as he was looking for a particular set of armor. The work of Welf Crozzo was quite well done all the while affordable and so he decided to stick to works of that particular blacksmith when it comes to his armor.

It was in a rather unused corner of the shop filled with items that had been gathering dust that Shirou found the armor set he was looking for. The same design as before, same silver sheen but of a higher quality than before according to a quick Structural Analysis. It's name was the apt and simple Silver Knight Mk II, and Shirou immediately gathered it up to be purchased right away.

On his way to the counter Shirou's eye is caught by the gleam of a short sword tailored for pallums. It had a cross shaped guard and black leather wrapped hilt and the blade had some runic engravings just above where the hilt and guard meet. Given the skill in its making and the quality of mithril used to make it, it would be quite the boon for Lili. Shirou grabbed it and added it to the pile of things he would be purchasing on this day.

Lili was following his every step from the time they left the church to coming her to the shop and as he went around. She grabs his sleeve, stopping him from going any further and turns a starry eyed gaze towards him. "You'd really buy such a high quality weapon just for me, Shirou-sama?"

Removing one hand from the armor set and short sword but still maintaining enough balance to hold it all up with one hand Shirou pats Lili on the head. "Of course, Lili. You're not just my supporter, you're my precious friend." Shirou's eyes crinkle shut as he gives her a lopsided grin.

Shirou and Lili make their way to the cashier and Shirou proceeds to pay for the armor set and short sword which amounted to a total of 190,000 valis.

As soon as the money has changed hands Lili and Shirou head to a relatively spacious corner of the shop and Shirou dawns his new armor, Reinforcing every piece of it as he does so. He also Reinforces the mithril short sword and sheath of Lili before handing it to her.

"Now Lili, we're ready to train. I must warn you though, in this week of sparring sessions of ours I shall be merciless, I shall be brutal, all for the sake of helping you grow stronger. I don't want to hear any complaints from you later on, alright?"

"Understood, Shirou-sama!" Shirou could not detect any falseness in her statement nor her demeanor so he decided to believe she would indeed keep to her word.

And so the duo made their way back to the site of the church of which they would train in the general vicinity of.

Nothing and no one impeded their way. Although every time Shirou would bother to look around at the other people they would have awed expressions on their faces and then they would begin to whisper and murmur amongst themselves. He figured it must be due to all of the rumors spreading about him and so he paid none of it any mind. What he did find odd however were the blushing and panting females that he and Lili would come across. In fact, practically every female they encountered on their way back to the church would give him looks like that. It seemed to bother Lili a great deal since she kept huffing and puffing and pinching his side but for Shirou, he was just hopelessly confused at the behavior of the women and Lili.

And just like that they were several meters away from the church at last. Lili and Shirou stood facing against each other, about 3 meters apart. Shirou Traced a copy of Torashinai for the sake of their sparring sessions and for the overwhelming bloodlust it gave off which would simulate live combat. Lili had sheathed the mithril short sword on her back but drew forth the blunt short sword Shirou had handed her earlier.

As he holds Torashinai in a ready stance as he faces off Lili, Shirou ends up reminiscing about his own grueling training sessions with Saber back during that week of the Grail War.

Ahhh, those were fun times. Shirou's life may have been in danger the whole time because it was a Grail War but that week held many of his fondest memories. And yes, that did include getting his ass handed to him by the King of Knights. Idly, Shirou mused that he must be some sort of masochist on some level to be thinking like that… Ah well, it's not like it was necessarily a bad thing.

"Okay, Lili. This is how we're going to do this. For ten hours we shall spar with one break for lunch, otherwise it is nonstop sparring. Come at me with everything you've got, do it with the intent to kill even!"

"Haaaaaaaaayaaaaaa!" Lili charges straight at Shirou, she comes in rather awkwardly with little to no finesse and with a lot of glaring openings in her stance but it looks like she really is putting all her strength into the motion.

Shirou parries her sword away and strikes her on the head, in the abdomen and at the back of her legs in quick succession. "Again! Pay attention to my movements as you attack, keep a tight grip on your weapon and try not to flail around so much when you attack!"

And they went on like that for the whole allotted ten training hours. Shirou would strike at Lili in more or less the same spots over and over again until she was able to keep up with his speed, his default speed with no Reinforcement, to a degree and block some of his attacks.

Lili would get battered and bruised from the onslaught Shirou put her through but no matter what, no matter how many times she fell down onto the ground she would get back up. And she never complained about what she was going through all the while. Not a single complaint. Not even a single tear was shed no matter the amount of pain she was going through.

And within a week, at the very least Lili's Basic Stats had gone up considerably from all the repetition of physical exertion and she had picked up the basics of kendo (not that she knew it was called that) through Shirou's constant striking at her with Torashinai.

With this, they were ready for the next phase of their training: live combat in the dungeon's first four floors with Lili taking point.

They made their way into the dungeon and were greeted with the usual dreary sights. The dank hallways that were dimly lit along with the screeching and shrieking of the monsters that would spawn from the walls and ceiling.

It used to unnerve Lili to some extent even when she was traveling around with a group of adventurers but now, after everything she has been through with Shirou-sama and after the grueling one week of spars she couldn't help but chuckle at her past fears. The dungeon may be a dark and depressing place but she no longer let it bother her so much. And besides, Shirou-sama was with her and that always made things all the better!

Shirou on the other hand was wary of every corner and shifting shadow. He desperately did not want anything bad to befall Lili nor anyone in the future that would venture into the dungeon with him. He never wanted to feel helpless like that again, when he almost didn't save Lili in time.

"Okay, Lili, have faith in your training thus far. Strike without fear, I shall cover you from the back. You can do this. Go, Lili!" Shirou declares by raising one arm forward. He draws forth Twin Shadow from his back as soon as he finishes his statement and stands at the ready to intercept any monster that comes his way.

Before coming here Shirou made sure to Reinforce Lili, something he will always be doing for any of his party members when going into the dungeon in order to give them an edge when fighting.

And it was because of that that Lili was able to dash to and fro so much more quickly than ever before.

She made sure to always hit a vital point when fighting the spawned Goblins and Kobolds. She'd gouge out eyes, she'd stab right through the forehead, she'd slash horizontally at the abdomen and cause entrails to spill out, she'd cleave through the throat from ear to ear and so on.

In one particular instance Lili was faced with a Dungeon Lizard and she slashed across its entire length going from the head down to its tail.

Any monster, be it Goblin, Kobold or Dungeon Lizard that tried to blind side Lili was met with a sword to the head that came flying in at a speed it could never hope to match.

And so the next seven days went like that, with Lili killing monsters by the dozens with Shirou watching her back. Lili ended up getting used to fighting so many monsters in an enclosed place up close and she got to improve her Basic Stats all the while.

Shirou couldn't help but feel so proud. Lili had come a long way in the past two weeks. With her instincts and her skills gained from the constant fighting he felt that she was ready to stand alongside him in the dungeon now more than ever.

"Come on, Lili." Shirou extends a hand for her to take. "I'll walk you back home to the Soma Familia after we've traded in our haul for the day. Also, good job, Lili. You've really come a long way."

Lili takes the extended hand in hers with much gusto. "Thank you, Shirou-sama! Lili is just happy to no longer be such a burden to you!"

Shirou's grip tightens a bit around Lili's hand. "You were never a burden to me, Lili. Never that… do you understand?"

Lili stills for a moment and gives Shirou a look he can't readily decipher and then she turns her gaze down to the ground, shadowing her eyes over. "... then, what is Lili to Shirou-sama?"

"I told you Lili," Shirou puts one hand to her chin and lifts her head up so that they are looking eye to eye. "You're my precious friend."

And with that they happily make their way out of the dungeon, content with each other's company and hopeful in regards to future endeavors.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Not much essentially happens in this chapter but I hope it was fun to read. Not sure when the next chapter will be out. Depends on my mood and how well the story does.**


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